


in media res

by VeryImportantDemon



Category: Lucifer (TV)
Genre: Chloe KNOWS, Deckerstar - Freeform, Developing Friendships, Douchifer, Friendship, Gen, How Dan finds out, I just wanted to write and Lucifer and Dan, It’s a little bit Douchifer?, Lucifer and Dan are ride or die, Lucifer and Dan bonding, dan knows, im kind of a slur for it tbh, it might go into Chloe/Dan/Lucifer if you squint territory
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-09
Updated: 2019-06-11
Packaged: 2020-04-23 08:05:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,870
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19146913
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VeryImportantDemon/pseuds/VeryImportantDemon
Summary: in media res: Latin, “into the middle of things”Somewhere near the middle of their relationship, things start to happen to Lucifer and Dan.Or: Lucifer saves Dan and Dan saves Lucifer.





	1. Part One

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lucifer saves Dan.

Dan’s mellowed out since Charlotte. He’s not over her and he doesn’t think he ever will be, but he’s taking the first few steps in the direction of the rest of his life. Linda has helped him tremendously, more than he would’ve thought possible beforehand. He’s less vindictive, less filled with hate directed outwards and inwards. He’s a lot closer to the man he used to be than the Dan that threw Lucifer under the bus. He is, though, a little quieter and far from a dirty cop.

 

He doesn’t hate Lucifer anymore, if he ever did. (Reflection, courtesy of Dr. Martin, has led him to believe he never hated Lucifer. He hated that Charlotte was gone and was searching wildly for someone to pin the blame on.) Even though Lucifer is with Chloe, Dan still doesn’t hate him. (He isn’t that bitter. He still loves Chloe and he wants her to be happy. Lucifer makes her happy. He’s a big enough man to admit that.) He and Lucifer aren’t really friends, but they’re coworkers, and they haven’t drawn each other’s blood yet. That’s something. 

 

It’s good that they aren’t killing each other, Lucifer and Dan, because they end up working together a lot. Lucifer is Chloe’s partner, after all, and a lot of Chloe’s cases end up being Dan’s, too. Just like the one that ends with Dan stalking through a darkened, junky shipping warehouse with his gun out, searching for a killer.

 

Michael Dixie, Dan thinks while he slowly creeps through rows of shipping containers. Michael Dixie, who’s kidnapped and killed multiple young dark-haired Latina girls like his daughter. Michael Dixie, who has last been seen fleeing into the shipping warehouse with a duffel bag. He’s fleeing town, they know. They also know there is a freighter leaving for South America that very night, which makes his path and the presence of the duffel make sense. He’s fleeing the country. He’s going to need money to do that. Dan also knows there’s no way in Hell that’s happening. 

 

“How’s the hunt going, Daniel?”

 

Dan spins around, his finger on the trigger, before he even registers the English accent that can only belong to Lucifer Morningstar. 

 

“Jesus Christ,” Dan says, voice quiet, lowering his gun and shaking his head slightly. 

 

Lucifer grins and opens his mouth but Dan cuts him off. 

 

“Not exactly, I know,” he whispers. “The fuck are you doing here?”

 

“Well, I was tagging-“

 

“Dude, shut up,” he whispers-yells. “We’re tracking a killer.”

 

“Oh, I know,” Lucifer says, dramatically lowering his voice which Dan appreciates. “Things were getting boring with Chloe.” 

 

Dan rolls his eyes slightly. “Stay down and quiet,” he whispers before continuing on. Lucifer hunches down and follows as they pick their way through discarded goods, rows of shipping containers, wooden pallets… Any and all manners of garbage. No wonder the place is out of business.

 

Then Dan sees it. A duffel bag, dropping in the middle of the warehouse. He starts towards it, frowning. It looks like it’s been dropped. “Stay here and watch my back,” Dan whispers to Lucifer, glancing back at him quickly before creeping forward.

 

“Only because I want to, Daniel,” he hears Lucifer say as he picks his way over a pallet and towards the duffel bag. His gun in one hand, he crouched down next to it. Dixie certainly isn’t getting far if he’s dropped his bag. Grabbing the zipper, Dan starts to tug the bag open. He doesn’t even get it half open before he sees the wires and the blinking numbers counting down.

 

Dan’s eyes widen and he spins around. “Lucifer, get back!” he shouts, hushed voices completely forgotten. They only have a few seconds. He’s too close, but Lucifer still has a chance. “It’s a bomb, go!” 

 

Talking has eaten up some of his precious few seconds, but they’re worth it. Trixie knows he loves her and maybe he can save someone else’s life, even if that someone is Lucifer. 

 

He tries to run, picking a direction and starting to go, but he hears a  _ tick, tick, tick  _ and a voice, a British accent, saying from somewhere far away, “Daniel!”

 

There’s a flash of white, too, a flash of white that slams into his chest at breakneck speed and takes the air right out of him as it folds around him. Something warm. But he doesn’t have time to register what it is before the bomb goes off.

 

Dan’s ears are ringing and his head is pounding but he, oddly enough… Is alive. He blinks slowly, clearing up his vision, because all he saw before the explosion was white. There’s still white, but it starts to come into focus. It looks almost like an intricate pattern of feathers. And there’s something warm crushing him, too, like a pit of arms.

 

And then, just as fast as it starts, it’s over. Dan aches like he’s going to bruise and his ears are still ringing but he’s alive, somehow. He tries to catch his breath so he can talk again. “Lucifer,” he wheezes, trying to pry himself out of whatever cocoon he’s found himself in. He needs to find Lucifer. He was far enough away from the blast that he should’ve been okay, but he needs to find him. He’ll work out how the Hell he survived that blast almost entirely unscathed later. He tries to wiggle his way out of the cocoon because he needs to find Lucifer. “Lucifer, where are-“

 

The blanket of white shifts around him and he hears it speak - and it sounds a lot like Lucifer. “Calm down, Daniel,” he says, a little irritably, “I’m not the mortal who almost got blown up.” The pressure holding him down releases and when Dan looks up, he almost has a heart attack. 

 

It is Lucifer. He looks disgruntled, his suit rumpled, but that isn’t out of the ordinary. What is out of the ordinary is the two giant, white, feathery wings curled loosely but protectively around Dan. 

 

“Holy fuck,” Dan says. He scrambles backwards but he hits a wall and doesn’t get far. “How are you- why did you-“ He rubs his eyes like when he opens them the wings will be home but they aren’t. 

 

“Welcome to the club, Daniel,” Lucifer says, sighing slightly. “It’s very exclusive.” 

 

“You’re an angel,” Dan says, and it sounds foreign to him. He can’t believe he’s saying it. “You’re actually-“

 

“Actually Lucifer, yes,” Lucifer says. 

 

Lucifer Morningstar is actually the Devil. 

 

“You saved me,” he says. It’s this he finds more difficult to swallow then the consultant’s more divine nature. 

 

“Why, yes, of course,” Lucifer says. “I wouldn’t let you explode.” 

 

“I thought you hated me,” Dan says.

 

Lucifer shrugs. “Not hatred so much as mild annoyance. I do enjoy your company on occasion. I think we could be… Decent friends. Acquaintances at least.”

 

Dan goes quiet for awhile, thinking. Lucifer wants to be friends with him? Lucifer who has been mocking him since day one? “Thank you,” he says finally because he doesn’t really know what else to say. No one wants to be friends with Dan. Dan doesn’t actually have many friends aside from Amenadiel. Why would Lucifer of all people want to be around him? 

 

“Pleasure,” Lucifer says, tugging on his jacket to straighten it. But he’s looking at Dan like he’s confused. “You don’t seem scared. Haven’t run away screaming or collapsed to your knees at the sight of true divinity.” 

 

Dan shrugs. “I know you,” he says. “You’re Lucifer. This…” He gestures at the wings, swallowing hard. “Is something else. But it’s…” Dan sighs again, trying to come up with the words. He pressed the base of his palms into his eyes while he thinks before he drops them and looks back up at Lucifer. “Fuck, you know those days when you’re like… Life is so fucking weird that this might as well happen? You’re weird enough that… Why not, you know?”

 

Lucifer is still frowning at him, staring at him like he’s trying to get him figured out. “Huh,” he says. “That’s new.”

 

“It’s new to me, too,” Dan says. He’s trying to keep his cool because this is very, very weird. Lucifer is an angel. He’s an actual angel and he’s actually the Devil. “You did just save me from a goddamn bomb with your… Angel wings.”

 

“You don’t need to say angel, Daniel,” Lucifer replies, ruffling his feathers. “It’s implied.”

 

“We need to get out of here,” Dan says. Now that his head is on straight and he knows what’s going on, he’s thinking clearer. “The bomb was a plant to lose us.” He climbs to his feet, wincing at the soreness in his muscles. 

 

“Chloe went around the back,” Lucifer explains. “She wouldn’t let him get away.” 

 

“Chloe,” Dan repeats. “Chloe, we need to/“ He takes a step, dips, and almost falls. However, Lucifer catches his upper arm and keeps him vertical. 

 

“She’s quite alright, Daniel,” Lucifer says as he folds in his wings. “Sorry about that, by the way. Got a little overzealous. We hit the wall going very fast.” 

 

Holding Dan’s arm, the angel and the detective slowly start to make their way out of the warehouse. It was a small bomb, luckily, but there’s wreckage strewn about. Dan tries not to think about what he would look like if Lucifer hadn’t saved him.

 

“So you never lied?” Dan asks. 

 

“Not once,” Lucifer says. “I detest liars.” 

 

Dan opens his mouth to speak again but he’s cut off by running footsteps echoing through the cavernous warehouse. “Dan!” Chloe shouts. “Lucifer!” She rounds the corner of a shipping container, her eyes wide with fear. Then she sees them. “Oh my god,” she says, and she’s rushing towards them. Dan starts towards her, too, his gate slow for all his bruises and soreness.

 

“Hate when she says that,” Lucifer murmurs and Dan cracks a smile as Chloe embraces him. He winces a little at the impact of the hug but he doesn’t mind, not really. 

 

“I’m so sorry,” Chloe says, pulling back. 

 

“It’s fine,” Dan assures her as she takes his face in her hands, studying his eyes. 

 

“You might have a concussion,” she says. “But you’re okay. The bomb went off just as I was grabbing Dixie. I thought you were dead.” Chloe stops, dropping her hands and frowning. “How are you okay?” 

 

Dan shrugs slightly. “Guess I have a guardian angel,” he says. 

 

Lucifer comes up behind him, clapping him on the back. “Daniel here is privy to our little secret, Detective,” he says. 

 

“Oh,” Chloe says, and then, “ _ Oh.”  _ She looks back at Dan. “So you saw-“

 

“The wings, yeah,” Dan says. 

 

“And you’re…” Chloe trails off, looking into Dan’s eyes. “Okay?”

 

“Yeah,” Dan says. “It’s just another thing.” 

 

“Good,” Chloe says. “If you need to talk about it or anything, I know and Linda knows.”

 

“Dr. Martin knows?” he says, frowning.

 

“Oh, yes,” Lucifer says, inserting himself into the conversation. “You’ve got to be honest with your therapist and all.” 

 

Dan watches as Lucifer turns his attention to Chloe. “I don’t even get a ‘hello, glad you’re alive’ and Daniel gets all that?” 

 

“I knew you were fine,” Chloe says, pushing his shoulder. She stands up on her tiptoes to give Lucifer a peck on the lips. She puts her hands on his shoulders, running them down his arms and holding his hands. “Are you okay?”

 

“Never better, darling,” Lucifer says, smiling. He kisses her on the forehead before she released him and turns back to Dan. 

 

“Okay, we need to get you to a medic,” she says. “Make sure you get that concussion treated.”

 

Dan nods and takes a step, Chloe on one side. Before he gets too far, there’s a strong hand on his shoulder. Dan glances up at Lucifer. “Thanks,” he says. 

 

Lucifer shrugs and smiles. “You’re welcome, Detective Douche.”

 

Dan rolls his eyes. 

 

—-

 

Lucifer’s walking past Dan’s desk with a drink carrier full of coffee, humming, when Dan stops him. He needs to ask something that’s been bothering him.

 

“Lucifer,” he says. 

 

The elegantly dressed man - angel? Devil? - stops and turns to face Dan. “To what do I owe the pleasure, Detective Douche?” he asks.

 

“Charlotte,” Dan says. “Amenadiel told me that she was in Heaven.” It isn’t exactly a question, more like a statement, but now that he knows… 

 

Lucifer understands. “She is,” he says, and he’s definitely softened. “He took her up himself. First class ticket to the Silver City.” He paused. “It’s less than she deserved, but it’s what we could offer.” 

 

Dan takes a deep breath. It’s comforting knowing she’s in Heaven. If anyone deserves it, it’s her. She tried so hard to be good, much harder than most people. “I’m sorry,” he says finally. “For… Jumping on your ass after…”

 

“I understand,” Lucifer says, and then he pauses. “I think. If I’ve learned anything, it’s that emotions are messy.” He smiles faintly at Chloe who has her nose in a pile of paperwork. “Especially love.” 

 

There’s a coffee on Dan’s desk, Lucifer is striding towards Chloe humming again, and Dan feels so, so much lighter.


	2. Part Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dan saves Lucifer.

Dan’s head is down and he’s trying to make himself do paperwork. He really is trying but it’s so hard because he’s exhausted. He’s not sure exactly why, but it may have something to do with the fact that he spent all night watching the new season of his favorite show on Netflix. He’s tired but he regrets nothing. 

 

Groaning, Dan firmly plants his forehead on the stack of paperwork. He does not want to be here today. He’s needs something to do. He needs something to wake it up. 

 

“Rise and shine, Detective Douche,” says Lucifer very loudly, clapping Dan on the back. 

 

Dan flinches and immediately sits bolt upright. “You could warn a guy, Lucifer,” he says, scowling. 

 

Lucifer shrugs. “That wouldn’t be any fun, would it, Daniel?”

 

“You’d save me a fucking heart attack,” Dan mumbles. 

 

“Up you get,” Lucifer says, patting Dan on the shoulder. “We need to go.”

 

“Go?” Dan says, frowning. “Go where?” 

 

“To get coffee,” Lucifer says. “The Detective said I was being, and I quote her directly, ‘annoying.’ So I should, and I quote again, ‘go get coffee or something.’” 

 

“Okay,” Dan says slowly, his brain still working to catch up. “What’s that have to do with me?”

 

“I want you to come,” Lucifer says. Dan frowns. Lucifer wants to spend time with him? No way. “I am going to need more than two hands to carry all of the coffee.”

 

“Ah,” Dan says. There it is. But he doesn’t notice Lucifer not meeting his eyes.

 

He stands up regardless, forgoing his jacket. Why not? He needs something to wake him up anyway. “Alright, let’s go.” 

 

Dan sticks his hands in his pockets, sighing as he follows Lucifer out of the precinct and onto the street. They’re walking side by side and Lucifer is as chipper as ever, humming something Dan can’t make out. 

 

“This is quite exciting,” Lucifer says after they cross a block. The coffee shop they’re going to is only another block and a half away. “The Devil and the Douche on a coffee run.”

 

Dan snorts. “That sounds like a really bad sitcom,” he says. “And why can’t I be the Detective?” 

 

“Because Chloe’s the detective,” Lucifer says simply. 

 

Dan rolls his eyes again. He seems to do that a lot around Lucifer. “Or a bad joke,” he says. “The Devil and an agnostic walk into a Starbucks.”

 

“Agnostic,” Lucifer repeats. “My devilish revelation hasn’t changed your feelings about religion, then?”

 

“Not really,” Dan says. “I know God exists. I know… Angels and demons exist. But no religion I know of seems to line up with what I know.”

 

“That’s a very educated answer, Daniel,” Lucifer says. “I’m proud.”

 

Shaking his head, Dan opens the door. Lucifer enters first and they join the relatively short line. 

 

It isn’t but moments before Lucifer speaks again. He’s studying the barista very closely. “Do I know her?” he says. “She looks familiar.”

 

Dan shrugs but glanced up anyway. He recognizes the last name on the girl’s tag. “She’s the mayor’s daughter,” he says. 

 

“Oh, yes,” Lucifer says. “I remember now. Her father received one of my favors.”

 

“You got the mayor elected?” Dan asks. 

 

“Oh, no,” Lucifer says. “It was far more interesting than that.” 

 

He doesn’t elaborate and frankly, Dan doesn’t want to know.

 

They make their way up the line and when there’s only one person between them and the barista, the door swings open and shut again. It’s happened a few times before but what’s different this time is that a woman screams. Dan whips around, his hand going for his gun before he remembers it’s in his jacket. It would have been very helpful because there’s a man in front of the door with a gun. 

 

“Get down!” he shouts. “Down and against the wall!” The patrons scramble to comply.

 

“Bloody hell,” Lucifer says, eloquently. 

 

“Fuck,” Dan says, much less eloquently. 

 

“I said get down against the wall,” the man said angrily, turning his gun on Lucifer and Dan. 

 

“I’m not fond of taking orders,” Lucifer says, taking a step forward. Dan does, too, because he’s a cop. It’s his job to protect people in situations like this. Even if he’s protecting Lucifer. Especially if he’s protecting Lucifer. 

 

“Come on, man,” Dan says, trying to placate the other man. He doesn’t want this to escalate. It’s too early to know the gunman’s mental state and therefore too early to launch an attack when he has hostages. “Let it go.”

 

“I will not let it go, Daniel,” Lucifer says, his eyes blazing with anger. “This swine has ruined what may have been a pleasant outing and he is pointing a gun at me. At these innocent people. I loathe when the innocent are punished.” He whips back around the face the gunman. “Do you know who I am?” 

 

“No,” the gunman says, “and I don’t care. Now get against the wall or I’ll shoot you.”

 

“Lucifer, get back,” Dan says, his voice low as he inches slowly closer to Lucifer. “We can sort this out, okay?” 

 

Lucifer, however, does not get back. He takes a step forward and a lot of things happen all at once. 

 

The gunman fires, which is the first thing. Dan is moving before the trigger is pressed all the way, which is the second thing. The third thing that happens is Dan’s movement. He bodyslams Lucifer, not thinking that Lucifer is immortal, not thinking that the bullet won’t hurt him at all. He isn’t thinking. He’s just acting on the fact he will not let someone he cares about (or might care about) get hurt on his watch. 

 

The fourth thing is a bullet lodging itself in his chest.

 

Things slow down for Dan after that. He collapses to the floor, all breath knocked straight out of him. His shoulder hits first and he’s in almost the fetal position for a split second before he sprawls out on his back, blood flowing from the wound. All he can hear is a faint ringing in his ears, the sound of someone breathing raggedly, and crying. His hands are shaking and he isn’t quite sure what to do with himself. He’s been shot before, knows the first aid, but every time it happens is like the first. He can’t breathe, he can’t move, he can barely think. But he can feel and he can listen

 

Burning, stinging pain is what Dan’s feeling. He’s hearing wheezing, his own body trying to catch its breath. His lungs trying to fill themselves. Then he hears shuffling beside him and an English accent. 

 

“Daniel,” Lucifer says urgently, and Dan can hear more scrabbling until Lucifer appears in front of him, his back to the gunman which isn’t a position many would take. But Lucifer isn’t many people. He’s Lucifer. “Daniel, you idiot!”

 

Lucifer’s hands are shaking, trying to decide what to do. “Fuck,” Dan whispers, his own shaking hands hovering above the wound. “P… P-pressure,” he says. Pressure on the wound. Stop the bleeding. It’ll hurt like hell, but it may save his life. 

 

Before Lucifer can lay his hands on Dan, the gunman speaks again. “I said, get over to the damn wall,” he said. “Take your friend with you.”

 

“I’m sorry, Dan,” Lucifer says, and Dan can see something desperate behind his eyes. “Daniel, I’m so, so sorry.” 

 

Dan wants to ask what for but then Lucifer hooks his hands under Dan’s arms and starts to pull. 

 

Oddly enough, Dan doesn’t think about the pain. He thinks about how surreal seeing the smear of blood across the coffee shop floor is. It looks like a scene from a horror movie but it’s his blood.

 

“Move,” Lucifer says, and a few scared people shift out of his way. He leans against the wall, laying Dan’s head in his lap more gently than he thinks Lucifer is capable of while Dan drapes his hands across his wound.

 

“Why did you do that?” Lucifer says. His voice is tight with something Dan thinks is emotion as he presses his hands against Dan’s chest. 

 

Dan lets out a soft exhale of pain when Lucifer puts pressure on his chest atop his own but he knows it needs to happen. Lucifer’s hands are warm, too. Surprisingly warm. The contact would be nice if he wasn’t bleeding out. “Because,” Dan says, and he chokes a little. “Couldn’t let him hurt you.”

 

Lucifer laughs wryly. “I’m the Devil, Daniel,” he says. “The actual Devil. Bullets are nothing to me.”

 

“Forgot,” Dan says, shrugging. “Just thinking can’t let my friend get shot.”

 

“Friend,” Lucifer repeats. “I, Lucifer Morningstar, the Devil, am your friend?” 

 

“Don’t… Don’t make me take it back,” Dan says, laughing slightly. It’s more an exhale than anything else because he has just been shot. He’s afraid if he really laughs he’s going to lose more blood. That and his chest is really tight. 

 

Lucifer opens his mouth to speak again but the gunman starts. “Nobody makes a move unless I say so,” he threatens, “or I’ll put a bullet in them.” 

 

“Too late,” Dan wheezes and Lucifer laughs, albeit a little nervously.

 

“You,” the gunman says, pointing the gun at the mayor’s daughter. “Get cell phones. All of them. Bring them to me.” He points the gun at another employee. “You, cover the door. Use the tableclothes.”

 

The girl skitters off to the far side of the group pressing against the wall, the side farthest from Lucifer and Dan. The gunman turns to follow her and the older woman hastily hanging up tablecloths over the glass door with his eyes so Dan takes the opportunity. 

 

“Phone,” he whispers. He twitches one of his hands slightly. “Lucifer.” 

 

Lucifer gets the message quickly, which is lucky for them. He takes one hand off of Dan’s to reach into the detective’s pocket. The cell phone collected, Lucifer slides it under Dan’s hands, against his bloody skin. It’s as good a hiding place as they’re going to get - the one place no one will want to look. 

 

The girl’s coming around to them, looking terrified. Her hands are shaking as she holds one out to Lucifer. “My hands are occupied, love,” he says. “You’re going to have to get it yourself. Right pocket there.” 

 

The girl kneels down, reaching into Lucifer’s pocket. While she does so, Dan can hear Lucifer whispering in her ear. “We’re the police,” he says, so softly Dan can barely hear them and he’s right there. “Whatever game he’s playing, play along for now.” 

 

The whole time she speaks, Dan’s looking right at the man who shot him. 

 

The girl doesn’t nod or indicate that Lucifer has spoken at all, but her eyes are wide and there’s something behind them that shows she understands. She dumps the armful of phones at the gunman’s feet, her shoulders shaking. 

 

“Dial your dad,” he says, gesturing at the pile. “I want to talk to him.” While she goes for her phone, he waves the gun at the assembled hostages on the wall. “And if any of you even think about talking unless I say so, I’ll blow your brains out.”

 

“Guess you missed,” Dan says darkly, a little sarcastically.

 

“I won’t next time,” the gunman says. “I don’t want a murder charge but I ain’t afraid to get one.” 

 

The girl has dialed the phone and holds it up to the man, shaking. “Hello, Mayor,” he says. “You might be wondering why I need to talk to you…”

 

Dan takes his chance while the gunman is distracted, Lucifer’s presence keeping him grounded, oddly enough. He tilts the phone just enough to unlock it, bloody prints across the screen. It reminds him of driving in Mario Kart when Trixie’s deployed that squid power up. He can see well enough. Well enough to type out a text to Chloe. 

 

_ coffee store hostages gun  _

 

It’s not much but Dan doesn’t feel safe typing much else. It’ll take too long and draw attention to him and his hands are shaking again. He pressed his hands back over the phone and Lucifer resumes his own position. 

 

“The detective?” Lucifer asks softly. 

 

“Yeah,” Dan says, his voice breathy. Who else would they call but Chloe. 

 

“Good,” Lucifer says. “Seems to me Mr. Gunman’s not after us. He’s after the girl. He’s asking for money for her safety.” 

 

Dan’s glad for the recap. He really is. He was so focused on the text that the man’s conversation faded into the background. But he’s back now, focused. The pain is sharp but Dan can deal with it. At least he hopes he can deal with it. He’s on the job. 

 

“Back against the wall,” the gunman snaps at the girl. She skitters over to the wall, sliding down to sit next to Lucifer, hugging her knees.

 

“His name is Debouir,” she whispers. “I… I heard my father say it. Through the phone.”

 

“Good girl,” Lucifer says. “Daniel?”

 

Dan hums slightly but he can’t send another text now. It’s too risky. The gunman is looking right at them. “Hold on,” he says.

 

“No, Daniel,” Lucifer says, his face concerned. “You’re very pale.”

 

“Tends to… To happen when you’ve… Been shot,” Dan says. His pale gray t-shirt is showing the evidence. It’s soaked through with red, red coating his hands and Lucifer’s hands and the cuffs of his suit. 

 

“We can’t have that,” Lucifer says. He shrugs off his suit jacket and Dan takes the opportunity to move. Lucifer shuffling with the jacket lets Dan’s phone hide behind it easily. He can barely read a new text from Chloe -  _ on our way.  _ He’d be concerned with the shortness of the text but she’ll know circumstances are dire and it’s best to keep things simple. 

 

_ gunman named debouir $ from mayor for daughter  _

 

Dan hits send, wincing as Lucifer presses the wadded up jacket to his chest, the jacket that is probably more expensive than his entire wardrobe.

 

“Was trying to save you from… Getting a new suit,” Dan says, his voice tight. The pain is more intense than before and he has to focus to draw his attention away from it. 

 

“Like I can’t afford another suit,” Lucifer says, dismissive, but Dan notes he’s more worried than Dan’s ever seen him, for some reason.

 

“Are we… Friends?” Dan asks. It seems trivial but it’s important to him. He needs to know. He really needs to know. 

 

“I thought we established this when I showed you my wings,” Lucifer says, pressing down harder. 

 

Dan sucks in a breath. He can’t breathe for a few seconds before he finally gets his lung function back. “That a yes?” he asks. 

 

Lucifer shakes his head. “Of course, Detective Douche,” he says, but it sounds fonder this time than when he’s heard it in the past. “You’re my perfect foil, Daniel. As much as I loathe to admit it, you have some… Admirable qualities that I lack. Steady. Reliable. You’re a good father to the spawn, much better than many in my experience. People actually like you, no… Devil mojo required.”

 

Dan thinks he’d laugh if he had breath to spare. Lucifer wants something Dan has? “People like you,” he says. “Chloe. Trixie. Linda. Ella. Maze. Your… Your brother.” 

 

“I suppose,” Lucifer concedes, but he’s quiet, thoughtful. It’s a new look on him. 

 

“I was… Was jealous of you,” Dan admits, because a hostage situation with a bullet in his chest seems to be the best place to make amends. “You were… Were what I wanted to… To be.” Lucifer is a man unafraid to live by his own rules. He’s cool, collected, suave. People love him and want him around. But Dan? He’s just Daniel Espinoza. The only family he has is Trixie and his ex-wife. No one wants to hang out with him. He’s someone annoying, someone who fades into the background and is ignored. “I’m nothing special,” he says.

 

“Nothing special,” Lucifer repeats. He laughs, shaking his head. “You’re remarkable, Dan. You’re the first person like you I’ve met in millennium. And you aren’t afraid of me.”

 

Remarkable. No one’s ever called Dan remarkable. 

 

“Thank you,” he says quietly. 

 

“Pleasure,” Lucifer says. “Any time. You know me, I don’t lie.”

 

Dan’s head spins, partially because of his conversation with Lucifer and partially because of blood loss. He’s exhausted and he’s bleeding out and he’s not entirely sure what’s going to happen next. What’s going to happen to him. “Trixie,” Dan says finally. If he and Lucifer are friends, then he should be able to trust him with this. Especially since Lucifer is an angel.  “And… And Chloe. You’ll-“

 

“Stop,” Lucifer says and his voice is so forceful Dan does. “Not another word like that or I will find where you’ve hidden your pudding. I didn’t save you once for you to give up now, Detective Douche.”

 

Dan lets it drop. Maybe it is a good thing he doesn’t think like he’s dying even though his chest is constricting every time he speaks, every time he takes too deep of a breath, and his blood is soaking Lucifer’s jacket through far too fast. He’s not sure how much time has passed before he speaks again because he’s drifting in and out of consciousness, Lucifer’s voice bringing him back before he can go too far.

 

“I wanted… Wanted to sleep with you,” he says. “When we first met.”

 

It’s a turn of pace and it definitely works to lighten Lucifer’s expression. He’s laughing a little. “You may get your chance yet, Daniel,” he says.

 

Dan smiles and he’s going to say something else but before he can, he coughs. It’s a natural reaction to not being able to breathe, his desperate lungs trying anything to clear the way to get air, but it isn’t working. He starts coughing and then there’s iron in his throat and then he’s choking on blood. 

 

“Dan,” Lucifer says, a little frantic. “Dan. Daniel!” 

 

Every time he coughs, his body convulses and the wound pulses out more of the blood he needs in his body and not all over the coffee shop floor. Lucifer instantly released the jacket, grabbing Dan by the shoulders and pulling him upright. He leans the man against the wall, apologizing the entire time as white-hot bursts of agony attack him with every moment. 

 

“Shut him the hell up,” the gunman snaps, crossing closer to them. 

 

“Leave him alone,” the girl says timidly. Dan appreciates it. 

 

“If Daniel weren’t incapacitated I’d have you on the floor drowning in your own blood,” Lucifer spits. 

 

Dan knows Lucifer, so he knows the angel means business. He knows Lucifer would do it, too. He’s just a little surprise he has struck that chord in Lucifer. 

 

The change in position helps and he isn’t choking on his own blood anymore. He’s still in pain and much paler than he was, dark circles under his eyes and a sickly look to his skin. 

 

“Are you alright, Daniel?” Lucifer asks. He reaches over, wiping the blood off of Dan’s face with his white cuff. 

 

“As I can be, dude,” Dan says faintly. 

 

Lucifer changes position so he’s sitting next to Dan, pressing on the wadded up jacket. He looks up at the gunman before he speaks, derision heavy in his tone. “He needs something to drink or he’ll choke again.” 

 

The gunman sighs. “Fine,” he says. He points at the girl with the weapon. “You. Where can he get water?” 

 

“There’s, um… There’s a sink behind the counter,” she stammers. “Where we m-make the coffee.”

 

“Up,” the gunman says. The girl scrambles to her feet, glancing at Lucifer and Dan before making her way behind the counter with the gunman following her. 

 

Dan shifts his hands slightly from where they’re pressed just above the wound, half hidden under Lucifer’s jacket, and peeks at the phone. There’s another text from Chloe. 

 

_ Get him against the west wall. SWAT can take a shot if he’s there.  _

 

That seems like something doable. It makes sense, too. There’s a hallway, Dan recalls, on the west side of the store that leads back to the restrooms and employee only areas behind the main room of the store. At the end of that hallway is a window.

 

He doesn’t respond but Chloe will be able to see that he’s read it. “Lucifer,” he says quietly. Lucifer shifts, his hand on Dan’s shoulder. He glances down at the phone, reading the message quickly. By then, the girl and the gunman are coming back around so Dan slides the phone away and Lucifer resumes the pressure on the chest. 

 

The girl kneels beside her, shaking hands holding a paper cup full of water. Dan reaches out to take it, his hand shaking, too. Water feels nice on his throat but it doesn’t do much to cut the taste of the iron. When he lowers the cup, the tap water is turning red. 

 

“Thanks,” he murmurs as the girl takes the cup from him. Dan drops his hand, swallowing hard and looking back up to Lucifer. The devil smiles wryly. 

 

“Alright, Daniel,” he says. “Give me a moment, please.” 

 

Lucifer lingers, waiting until Dan’s hands are on top of the jacket, pressing down as hard as he can manage, before he stands up. The gunman immediately points the barrel of the weapon at Lucifer. 

 

“I didn’t say you could get up,” he snaps. 

 

Lucifer smiles wryly. “I am not afraid of you,” he says. He takes a step forward and the gunman takes a step back. 

 

“I said get back,” the gunman says. “I’ll shoot you, too.”

 

“I don’t care,” Lucifer says. He takes another step forward, rolling his sleeves up to just before his elbows. “I have a question for you.”

 

“You’re not the one asking questions here,” the gunman snaps but Lucifer keeps stepping forward and he keeps moving back. 

 

“You shot my friend,” he says. “I’m entitled to a question answered at least.” 

 

“Get back,” the gunman says. “Get back against the wall or I’ll shoot you and your friend.”

 

“Just answer me this first,” Lucifer says. Again, he advances, and again, the gunman backs up. Dan can’t see Lucifer’s face anymore but he knows where this is going. “What do you desire?” 

 

“I…” The gunman’s hold on his weapon loosens. He lowers it, just shy of having his back against the wall. “I want the mayor’s money. He cheated me out of it. I deserve it.”

 

“You know what else you deserve?” Lucifer asks. “A nice, long vacation somewhere very, very warm.”

 

Lucifer steps back, the spell broken, and a bullet rips through the air. It buries itself in the man’s shoulder and he drops the gun, collapsing to the ground. Lucifer kicks the gun across the store, far out of the gunman’s reach, as uniformed officers burst into the building. 

 

Dan’s had enough. He’s very tired and now that everyone is safe, he can rest. He lets his eyes close, lets out a breath, and relaxes. There’s commotion all around him but he doesn’t register most of it until he hears someone shouting his name as if through a tunnel. “Daniel! Daniel!”

 

He opens his eyes and, as if in slow motion, Lucifer is coming towards him. His eyes are almost fearful but Dan’s never seen him afraid so he isn’t sure. The angel hits the ground, pressing the jacket against Dan’s wound even though it’s smslt saturated through. “No, Daniel,” Lucifer says. “You’re not allowed now. Not today. Not after we just became friends, hm? You aren’t allowed to die. I forbid it.” 

 

“And you can do that?” Dan says, wheezing. 

 

“Well, I am the Devil,” Lucifer says. 

 

“Sorry,” Dan says. “For everything, I…” 

 

“I know, Daniel,” Lucifer says. “Trust me, I know. And I am sorry, too, truly. For wronging you. But now isn’t the time. You have offspring, friends. You are not allowed to do this.”

 

Dan blinks again, slowly. Lucifer is shouting then, for a medic, but the next person who arrives is Chloe. She’s frantic, her eyes red as she falls to her knees next to him. “Dan,” she says. “Dan. Dan, no. What did you do?” 

 

“Saved someone,” Dan whispers. He blinks and it takes far too much effort to open his eyes again. “Trixie…” He starts drifting off again, his breath catching in his throat, before he can finish.

 

“Dan,” Chloe says, increasingly more nervous. And then, very far away, “Man down! I need a medic! Now!”

 

Then there’s Lucifer saying, “Daniel! Daniel! Come on, Daniel, please…” 

 

Dan thinks he hears Trixie laughing as he falls asleep.

 

—- 

 

There’s a TV playing. It makes his way through Dan’s fuzzy consciousness even though he can’t quite make out what it is. He lies there, with his eyes closed, listening. It’s Steve Harvey, he realizes after a few more minutes. Someone’s watching Family Feud.

 

Dan opens his eyes, sucking in a breath. He’s in a hospital room and, yes, there’s a TV in the corner of the room. 

 

“Welcome back, Daniel.” 

 

Dan turns his head slightly, surprised yet not at the same time to see Lucifer Morningstar in a chair beside him. He’s wearing a fresh suit, cleaned up since the disastrous coffee run. His legs are crossed but his attention is turned now away from the TV and towards Dan. “Lucifer,” Dan says, his voice scratchy.

 

“The one and only,” Lucifer says, smiling a little. 

 

“You okay?” Dan asks and Lucifer actually does laugh. 

 

“Humans,” he says. “Always do this. ‘Are you alright?’” He uncrosses his legs and leans forward.  “I’m not the one who’s just been shot and you’re asking after me.”

 

Dan shrugs slightly which makes Lucifer laugh again. He leans back in his chair, shaking his head. “I’m fine, regardless,” he says. “You were in surgery quite a while but they say you’ll be alright, too.” 

 

Dan nods slightly about to ask about the case when Chloe enters the room holding two cups of coffee. “Sorry it took so long, Lucifer,” she says. “The line was-“ She stops when she sees Dan awake, smiling. 

 

“Dan! Thank God,” she says. 

 

“I’d thank the Devil if I were you,” Lucifer chimes in. 

 

Chloe rolls her eyes, handing Lucifer a cup of coffee before pulling up her own chair beside Lucifer and next to Dan’s bed. “How are you feeling?” she asks.

 

“I’m not feeling much right now,” he says truthfully. “Just… Sore.”

 

He shifts a bit on the bed, wincing slightly. “What happened with Debouir?” he asks. 

 

“He and the mayor we’re friends in college,” Chloe says. “He felt entitled to a job when the mayor got elected and when he didn’t get it…”

 

“He went after the money some other way,” Dan finishes. “Ransoming the girl.” 

 

“Exactly,” Chloe says. “He confessed before they got him in the ambulance.”

 

“You’re welcome for that, by the way,” Lucifer chimes in. “I did that.”

 

“Not surprised,” Dan says. Extracting confessions is Lucifer’s thing. 

 

“Trix,” Dan says after a beat. “Where is she?” 

 

“Maze has her,” Chloe says. “She’s…” She checked her phone. “On their way here, actually. Maze texted me a few minutes ago saying they just got here.” 

 

The door creaks slightly causing all three people to turn and look. “Daddy!” Trixie calls. She runs across the room, skidding to a stop next to Dan’s bed. She scrambles on top of the bed, throwing herself against her father in a hug.

 

Dan winces but he’s glad Trixie doesn’t notice. “Hey, Trixie,” he says, rubbing her back. 

 

“Go easy on Dad, Trix,” Chloe says, laughing a little. 

 

Obligingly, Trixie scoots off of her father’s chest and snuggles up next to him. “I’m not letting you go to work again.” 

 

“Whatever you say,  _ mija _ ,” Dan says, kissing the top of her head. 

 

He looks up at Lucifer over her head.  _ Thank you,  _ he mouths and Lucifer just smiles. 

 

It feels nice to have the Devil in his corner.


End file.
